English

Noun

A lighter is a portable device used to create a
flame. It consists of a
metal or plastic container filled with lighter fluid (usually
naphtha or liquid
butane under pressure),
as well as a means of ignition and
some provision for extinguishing the flame, by depriving it of
either air or fuel.

Lighters using naphtha have a wick which is
immersed in the fluid and becomes saturated.
This type usually has a fiber packing material which absorbs the
liquid to keep it from leaking. They also must have an enclosed top
to prevent the volatile
liquid from evaporating, and to conveniently extinguish the flame.
Butane lighters have a valved orifice that meters the butane as it
escapes as a gas.

A spark is created by striking metal against a
flint,
or by pressing a button that compresses a piezoelectriccrystal, generating a voltaic arc
(see Piezo
ignition). In naphtha lighters the liquid is volatile enough
that flammable gas is present as soon as the top of the lighter is
opened. Butane lighters combine the striking action with the
opening of the valve to release gas. The spark ignites the
flammable gas causing a flame to come out of the lighter which
continues until either the top is closed (naphtha type), or the
valve is released (butane type).

A metal enclosure with air holes generally
surrounds the flame, and is designed to allow mixing of fuel and
air while making the lighter less sensitive to wind. The high
energy jet in butane lighters allows mixing to be accomplished by
using Bernoulli's
principle, so that the air hole(s) in this type tend to be much
smaller and farther from the flame. In a plastic butane lighter
this metal enclosure also regulates the distance from the valve to
the beginning of the flame. If the flame is too close to the valve,
there is a risk of the flame melting some, most, or all of the
plastic components of the lighter which are in close proximity to
the valve.

History

The development of lighters accelerated during
the first World War. Soldiers used matches to find their way in the
dark, but the intense initial flare of matches gave away their
position, and many lives were lost because of this. So the need for
fire without a large initial flare was born. Inventors started
improving the design of lighters and by 1918 when the war ended,
they were able to be produced fast, easier and cheaper.

Safety

Two technical standards relate to the safety of
lighters. The International Standard EN ISO 9994:2002 establishes
non-functional specifications on quality, reliability and safety of
lighters and appropriate test procedures. For instance, a lighter
should generate flame only through positive action on the part of
the user, two or more independent actions by the user, or an
actuating force greater than or equal to 15 N. The standard also
specifies other safety features, such as as the lighter's maximum
flame height and its resistance to elevated temperatures, dropping,
and damages from continuous burning. However, the standard does not
include child resistance specifications. In addition, the European
standard EN 13869:2002 establishes child-resistance specifications
and defines as novelty lighters those that resemble another object
commonly recognized as appealing to children younger than 51
months, or those that have entertaining audio or animated effects.
As matches, lighters,
and other heat sources are the leading causes of fire deaths for
children, many jurisdictions, such as the EU, have forbidden the
marketing of novelty or non-child resistant lighters. Examples of
child resistance features, include the use of a smooth or shielded
spark wheel.

The lighter's socket doubles as a 12 volt power outlet that can be used
to power many small electrical devices. In some newer cars, due to
the decreasing popularity of smoking in some countries and the
popularity of in-car electronics, the lighter plug has been omitted
while leaving the socket behind as a power source.

In pop culture

During slow songs at live concerts,
particularly power
ballads, concert goers often wave lighters in the air. In
recent years, this tradition is being at least partly superseded by
the waving of mobile
phones. It may be that this occurs as fewer people have
lighters on them than in previous years, and because mobile phones
can record live bands.

According to an interview by Matthew Alice, the
use of lighters in concerts started due to the influence of several
sources, making it difficult to trace. First, there is the theory
that the practice simply started at a Neil Diamond
concert of 1972 or a Bob Dylan
concert at 1974, because the audience had lighters available.
Another theory is that the gesture is symbolic of songs with flames
mentioned, such as the Doors' "Light My
Fire." Another theory is that this practice came out of a
performance during Woodstock where
candles (rather than lighters) were held aloft, and evolved from
this.

In addition, it is frequently commented that
lighters with opaque fuel containers (such as the standard Bic type)
succeed in striking a flame more often than lighters with
transparent plastic for the fuel holder (like the German-made Tokai
lighters). Although the transparent plastic itself is often blamed,
this is more likely to be a difference in the quality of
manufacturing for the ferrocerium components: see the list of
lighter manufacturers below. Plastic lighters often travel great
distances, as they are typically lost before expiring, because of a
popular 'can I get a light' phrase among smokers.